A new study breaks down 10 “highly sought hard skills” in the Kawartha Lakes region – and Fleming College can teach most of them.

With Kawartha Lakes grappling with a high unemployment rate and low wages, this first-ever report of its kind shows a potential path forward for many who live in this area– if they get the right education and skills.

The report was produced by the Workforce Development Board (WDB) under the Local Employment Planning Council (LEPC) pilot. The report covers employment aspects related to Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, Peterborough County and Haliburton County. In our last article on this theme we focused on the job and income challenges in Kawartha Lakes.

Since the report also talked about the hard skills that were needed, the Advocate contacted Fleming College to find out how many of these hard skills could be matched up though local post-secondary education opportunities.

When you consider the word ‘literacy,’ you mostly likely think about reading, but did you know that literacy encompasses so much more than that? There is digital literacy, financial literacy, community literacy…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Schools are designed to teach students all sorts of literacy as they progress through the grades – preparing children for the ‘real world.’

Can you think of another institution that has similar goals? If you guessed the local library, then you are absolutely correct.

The legal action against the Ontario government for cancelling the basic income pilot project is continuing on track, according to Lindsay lawyer Mike Perry.

The legal action is proceeding on two fronts. The first is a request to the court to overturn the Minister’s decision to cancel the pilot project. Originally scheduled to be heard in October, the matter will now be heard in Ontario Superior Court (Divisional Court) in late January, 2019.

By now, most of us with school-aged children have settled into the routines of fall and the new school year. Of course, this means getting up early, packing lunches, driving here and there in our very busy lives and of course hearing about the school day at the dinner table.

If your kids are anything like mine, you likely hear stories about what their friends did that day, who the favourite teachers are and how they’ve done on their assignments. Of course, we always hope the stories are positive and that your child’s experience at school is a good one.

When we thought about our daughter going to Grade 7 this fall — at a new school in a new town — we had many concerns and hopes, but none were about the curriculum. The PC government’s attack on teachers and the threat to add a snitch line seems so petty. Teachers aren’t employed by the Province in the first place and the Ontario College of Teachers requires accountability and a professional level of standard — and boards are in place to monitor necessary levels of conduct.

Our concerns were typical parental concerns. Will she make friends? How will she adapt to having more than one teacher each day?

Once in a while a mainstream public policy book comes along that has the potential to be a game changer of information, analysis, and sound reasoning. Even rarer is when that same book can strike a warm and inviting tone, beckoning the reader into what feels like a private discussion.

Basic Income for Canadians: The Key to a Healthier, Happier, More Secure Life for All (published by Lorimer) should not be private, though – it should be required reading for every federal and provincial bureaucrat, every municipal politician, and every business owner. It should be on the must-read list for every Canadian who has even the slightest interest in where our nation is headed, and where it could be.

Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) trustees approved the appointment of Tim Ellis as the board’s new superintendent of business services, replacing Bob Kaye who will be retiring after working for 28 years with the board.

Ellis will be responsible for system fiscal management and accountability, as well as leadership of facility and transportation departments.

Local Grade 3 EQAO results from the Education Quality and Assessment Office (EQAO) show a drop in all three assessment areas — reading, writing, and math. Reading and writing results in Grade 6 are holding steady, indicating a slight decline of one per cent in math, just as the provincial results also dropped by one per cent in Grade 6 math.

As the Trillium Lakelands District School Board grapples with a $2 million funding shortfall in expected revenues, it found the solution in decreasing the amount of money it is allocating for teacher sick leave.

Director of Education Larry Hope just hopes it wasn’t a one-time solution, and so has reached out to the local union presidents for support.

A familiar ritual plays out across Kawartha Lakes on the first Tuesday of September. It’s a ritual that most of us have participated in – sometimes grudgingly, often anxiously. For those living in the countryside, this ritual involves waiting at the end of a long laneway for a yellow bus.

For those in town, it involves making a five, 10, 15, or 20-minute journey by foot, or occasionally by car. Parents reassure their children that they will do well on their first day of Kindergarten, while down the street their teen-aged counterparts are gaily exchanging pleasantries about their summer break, and comparing notes about who is taking what classes this semester.

From the Kawartha Lakes Health Coalition On April 18 this year The Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) posted a notice in … More

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The Lindsay Advocate is an online news magazine for Lindsay, Ontario, Canada, focused on the social and economic wellness of the town. While we cover most aspects of community life, we have a particular interest in poverty reduction.